In Brief: 9/11 observance set for Saturday; NCOR fundraiser to make a splash; Best Buddies bike ride Saturday

An observance marking the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001, begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St.

The ceremony is to include patriotic songs, words of inspiration, and the presence of representatives of the Sheriff’s Department, fire departments and Cambria Community Healthcare District, there to represent and honor their counterparts who made the ultimate sacrifice on that tragic day.

The public candle-lighting ceremony will end the memorial, to be followed by a free hamburgers and hot dog barbecue.In a separate event earlier that day, early risers are to congregate at the Memorial Building flag stand at 5:45 a.m. (the West Coast time at the time the attacks began on the East Coast) for a 15-minute silent tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11.

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Volunteer members of the North Coast Ocean Rescue Team (NCOR) are business owners, contractors and construction workers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, a tree trimmer, resource manager, upholsterer and more — and all are trained lifesavers.

They’re hosting their annual 6-mile, Pier-to-Point paddling fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 18. Enthusiasts take to the water about 8 a.m. at San Simeon Bay and land a couple of hours later at Leffingwell Landing in Cambria.

The annual paddling event drew about 90 kayakers from ages 12 to mid-70s last year. Entry fee for the Pier-to-Point is $40, including participation, T-shirt and barbecue lunch.

Sign up at the fire station, 2850 Burton Drive, by calling 927-6239 or by downloading the form at www.ncoronline.com. Non-kayakers can donate to NCOR, and anyone is welcome to watch at the pier as the kayakers depart and at Leffingwell Landing, as the paddlers return to shore.

Sign-up fees and donations will help pay for a motor to power NCOR’s new 14-foot Achilles inflatable rescue boat, which replaced one donated to the group about 15 years ago.

Team members respond whenever locals or visitors find themselves in distress in waters off the North Coast. NCOR operates independently under the umbrella of the Cambria Fire Department and Cambria Community Services District.Since the team began in 1994, those calls have ranged from a stranded kayaker or swamped swimmer to a sailboat crash that killed a woman thrown from the vessel.

Rescuers range in age from almost 18 to mid-70s, and they are experienced swimmers, divers, kayakers and trained boat operators, and two are record-setting distance swimmers in channels around the world.

What motivates NCOR members to jump into the water under nearly any sea condition? According to team member Ben Boer, the impetus is a combination of “a love of the ocean and wanting to give back to the community in a way in which few people could succeed.”

— Kathe Tanner

Best Buddies bike ride on Saturday

Motorists on the North Coast should be careful of bicyclists on the road on Saturday, Sept. 11, as the seventh annual Audi Best Buddies Challenge: Hearst Castle makes its way south on Highway 1 from Carmel.

Bike riders also set out from Big Sur and Ragged Point (at 11 a.m.), headed for William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach in San Simeon.

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, hero of the “miracle on the Hudson” in January 2009, is among those expected to take part.

The airline pilot, now retired, and his wife, Lorraine, of Danville will be part of “Team Maria,” led by California First Lady Maria Shriver, wife of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sullenberger successfully landed a US Airways jetliner in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 people aboard after a bird strike knocked out the plane’s engines.

Shriver’s brother Anthony Kennedy Shriver founded Best Buddies International. The group has established a global volunteer movement to creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Following the 5-kilometer “Carl Lewis Challenge” led by the Olympic gold medalist on a route leading to San Simeon Point, participants gather at the Hearst Ranch for an evening barbecue and concert.

Nearly 1,500 people took part last year, raising close to $4 million in total donations. To register, participants pledge to raise amounts starting at $1,650.

Participants in previous events have included model Cindy Crawford, actors David Caruso and Rob Lowe. Schwarzenegger rode with Shriver and their four children from Cambria to San Simeon in 2007.

On Oct. 5 and 6, about 200 U.S. Wounded Warriors are to stop on the North Coast overnight as they bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Local donors can help make their visit memorable.

At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, the troopers and their sponsors are to dine in an oceanfront tent behind the Cavalier Resort in San Simeon, courtesy of American Legion Post No. 432 and Eagle Castle Winery. The event is part of the Ride2Recovery program.

Individuals can host and dine with the veterans: Each $35 donation provides dinner for one rider and the donor. Business-support recognition at each table costs $200.

For Ride2Recovery details, tickets or to make a donation, contact Terry Farrell at terryfarrell@ charter.net or 924-1814.

People also are encouraged to cheer and wave the riders on their way south the next morning at 9 a.m. Meet at Highway 1 and Cambria Drive; American flags will be provided.

— Kathe Tanner

Alzheimer’s Day at Gym One Sept. 21

World Alzheimer’s Day will be commemorated in Cambria again this year at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Gym One, 1266 Tamson Drive.

Healthy brain information, resources and refreshments will be available. Prizes will be given away, and signups taken for the annual Memory Walk.

For details, call 547-3830 or go to www.alz.org/cacentralcoast — Staff

Trout project put off to next year

Steelhead fish will have to wait at least another year before they have an easier swim up Santa Rosa Creek. The fish, federally listed as threatened, have to make it across a low-water road crossing over Santa Rosa Creek Road at Ferrasci Road just east of Coast Union High School.

Supervisor Bruce Gibson told members of the North Coast Advisory Council Aug. 18 that the project to remove the Ferrasci Road bridge and replace it with a wider, higher structure will be delayed by at least a year but will be done, despite the loss of a federal grant that was to have paid for the work.

According to Dave Flynn, deputy director of Public Works, delays in getting right-of-way permission and a requirement to meet county legal requirements for advertising and awarding the contract delayed the project beyond the grant cut-off.

County Public Works will manage the project to build a new bridge that the agency ultimately will have to maintain. “It’s in a county right of way,” Gibson said. “It really needs to be a county project.”